MY WIFE and I are not frequent moviegoers, but we like a good movie. We have contrasting tastes, however, in movies. She likes the romantic and the My Fair Lady genre; I like action - á la Rambo. Over the years, we have come to an agreement about the cinema. I will accompany her to her favourite movies - and sleep through them. She will accompany me to mine - and endure them.

One day she suggested that we go to see a movie called Seabiscuit. I groaned inwardly, and was not too willing to go. But she prevailed upon me. When I heard that this movie was about a racehorse, I knew I would be sleeping through it. So, at the start of the movie, I settled in to sleep.

Story of redemption

Unfortunately, I had drunk a large amount of Diet Coke, and the caffeine in it kept me up, so I was forced to watch it. To my amazement, the movie, which was based on a true story, turned out to be one of the greatest films I had ever watched.

The movie was the story of a discarded racehorse of the 1930s, rejected, abused and written off as useless, yet which went on to become arguably the greatest racehorse of the 20th century. It was also the story of the redemption of four lives:

A millionaire who had suffered deep sorrow in the tragic death of his son and the break up of his marriage, and how his life was redeemed through owning Seabiscuit.

An eccentric trainer living in poverty and on the edge of society in the Great Depression in the United States. His life was restored by training Seabiscuit. He uttered one of the memorable lines in the movie, "You don't throw away a life just because it's banged up a little."

Real life reflection

A half-blind boxer-turned-jockey, whose life was in ruins, but was redeemed and restored by a loving relationship with Seabiscuit.

Seabiscuit himself, a racehorse which was written off, thought to be useless, sentenced never to win a race, and yet became one of the greatest horses ever to grace a racetrack.

The movie was a painting of life and its lessons, a clear demon-stration that no life is beyond redemption, no situation too hopeless, and no disaster that does not carry within it the seed of a corresponding greater good.

Over the next series of articles, I shall outline the lessons from Seabiscuit, the story of redemption. There are seven lessons:

1. Physical limitations, adversity and hardship are no indication of your true potential. Your true treasure is your mind, not your circumstances.

2. Every one of us is uniquely gifted in something. It does not matter that we may have been abused, discarded and 'left for dead'. If we find that 'something' with which our Creator has endowed us, we can rise and soar into the skies of success, leaving our past behind us.

3. Words have power. The things you say can either heal or hurt. What you say to yourself (your thought life), what you say to your children, to others, is important. Words are often self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. To achieve extraordinary success, one must engage in extraordinary work. The training that Seabiscuit had to endure to beat the then number one horse - a magnificent, unbeaten stallion called War Admiral - was phenomenal. There is no free lunch.

5. You can use adversity to make you better, not bitter. True growth of character takes place during the fire of trials and adversity.

Best is yet to come

6. Confronting your fears, dealing with them and leaving them behind is important for your life. Fear can cripple and disable you, keeping you from achieving your dreams.

7. It is darkest just before the dawn. Many times the worst things happen to you before the best things happen to you. Always maintain in your thinking, "The best is yet to come."

As we look back on the life of Seabiscuit, I shall point out these seven life lessons for my readers. If they can work for a horse, surely they can work for you.